


Best-Laid Plans

by Escalus



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s05e09 Lies of Omission, F/M, Guilt, Internal Conflict, M/M, Sceo Secret Santa, Seduction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 09:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Escalus/pseuds/Escalus
Summary: The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.-- Robert Burns,To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The PloughWhat if Theo's plot to destroy Scott's pack didn't turn out exactly how he wanted it to go?  What if he had to improvise?





	Best-Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheorianDG](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheorianDG/gifts).



The rain tapped against the windows in the back room. It fell and fell, unconcerned with what was happening behind the glass. Brief and insensate, from an ocean far away, it would probably fall for another hour or so.

Theo took comfort from the idea as he leaned up against the wall beneath those very windows. It would probably rain tomorrow night as if nothing had changed. No matter who did what to whom, the universe would keep moving, withholding judgment. Incapable of judgment.

Across the room, Liam hovered over Hayden, supine in the corner. She was barely conscious; the progressive deterioration caused by the Doctors’ injection had entered its final stages. The altered mercury should have killed her immediately, yet, she struggled to survive, Liam hovering over her.

Theo eyed the girl. He couldn’t tell if the Geneticist had given her a smaller dose of the poison to keep her alive long enough for his plan to work, or if Hayden was just strong enough to fight for so long. He’d thank the Geneticist anyway.

Liam knelt by her, futilely trying to heal her by his presence alone. The variety and intensity of emotions the beta cycled through was dizzying. One moment, he was sick with love and longing, then he was terrified for her, and then he was raging against an unseen enemy. He was unstable. It was exactly what Theo needed. 

Every piece was on the board. Every seed sown. Success hinged on the timing. The perigee syzygy was tomorrow night.

Theo heard the distinctive roar of Scott’s dirt bike driving down the road, even in the rain. And he also heard, not far behind it, the even more distinctive sounds of Stiles’ Chrysler Piece-of-Shit. He took a deep breath; he had to practice the hardest skill of all: patience.

He had set Donovan on Stiles with two possible outcomes in mind. If Donovan had succeeded in killing Stiles, the resulting chaos would have destroyed the pack. Everyone in opposition to his schemes and the Doctors’ plans (which were not the same thing) would have been demoralized and weakened, tortured by the human’s death. Scott, especially, would have been emotionally destroyed even while his leadership was being undermined.

The sheriff could have been steered to blame Scott entirely, because the man was completely irrational when it came to his son. Just the other day, the fool had arrested Kira when it was obvious to the casual observer that she was being set up. Yet the sheriff had turned around the next day and allowed Theo to essentially confess to manslaughter and then walk away free because to do otherwise would implicate Stiles. This officer of the law hadn’t even taken him down to the station to verify his story. 

Theo would never underestimate the power of Noah’s love for his son. After all, the moment Stiles was in danger was the moment that the sheriff threw away all rationality. It would have been easy to focus Noah Stilinski’s rage on the alpha, perhaps even making Scott a fugitive.

The Doctors were right – untempered love made you weak – the sheriff and Stiles were proof of that. Theo tried to imagine the Surgeon abandoning his goals and his beliefs in order to protect Theo from his own stupidity. There was no world where that had a chance of happening. The only reason Stiles believed that he could get away with killing someone and not telling anyone about it was because his father had been letting him get away with things for years out of love.

And that made what had happened even more delicious. Stiles had managed to kill Donovan, but instead of protecting himself with the truth, he had spiraled into a morass of deception and self-loathing. Stiles had lied to every single person that could have helped him, and the resulting paranoia had seen Stiles essentially removing himself from the fight against the Doctors, allowing them to complete their experiments without his interference.

When he finally convinced Stiles to join his pack, Theo would have to convince him that such behavior was not acceptable. 

Theo had tended his lies carefully. He had subtly blackmailed Stiles without forcing him to do anything too awful, while still making him aware of just how much he was betraying his friends. He had used Stiles’ discarded wrench and a plausible story to put Scott in just the perfect spot to confront his friend. It was about to pay off. It had to. Theo was running out of time. 

They were going to tear each other apart, and when they did, it would be the end of the McCall pack. And he would be there to pick up the pieces.

He closed his eyes and listened to the vehicles come to a stop. He could hear the slam of the Jeep’s door. He could pinpoint Stiles’ voice even in the rain. “Hey, sorry. I had trouble starting the Jeep again. That thing's barely hanging on. I couldn't get in touch with Malia or Lydia. Scott?”

Silence. It felt like it stretched on for hours, but it was only maybe a minute. In a way, Theo felt sorry for poisoning such a beautiful thing as this friendship. Maybe … maybe he could find a way to resurrect it in a new form between Stiles and him, as a mercy. After the necessary deed was done. The deed that had to be done.

“Where did you get that?”

Ah. Scott had brought out the wrench. Theo could see it in his mind’s eye – raindrops dancing on the bloodstained metal. 

“You must have dropped this.” 

Scott’s voice was so soft Theo could barely pick it up in the rain. He strained to hear the alpha’s next words. 

Yet no more words came. Instead, there were footsteps, a pair of footsteps to the door to the clinic. Theo had assumed that Scott would want to confront Stiles in private, but if he was going to do it in here, so much the better. 

Scott appeared, soaking wet. His face was flat, his mouth turned down slightly at the corners. He barely looked at Theo or Liam, his eyes immediately going to Hayden on the table.

“How is she doing?”

Stiles came in right after him, holding the wrench in his hand like it would explode if he relaxed his grip. He had a dazed expression on his face, like someone who had been expecting to experience dreadful pain but the pain had never materialized. His body was still shaking from some undeniable and hidden emotion. Or maybe he was just cold from the rain.

“She’s getting worse. I think she’s dying.” 

Theo licked his lips, stunned, as Liam answered the alpha. Did he miss something? There was supposed to be more to it than that. It was like while he was watching a movie but went to get something to drink, he had missed an important scene.

Scott came over to where Hayden was and knelt down. He put his fingers on her forehead. Checking her temperature perhaps?

Liam, only a few feet away, flexed his fingers as if his claws were itching to extend. “Scott, remember what you promised me. You said you'd do everything you could to save her. If she's a real werewolf, we can save her. You gotta give her the Bite.”

Scott looked down at Hayden and then back up at Liam. 

“Okay. As long as she says yes.”

Theo nearly sprang away from the wall in surprise, but he managed to keep his reaction under control. He had been so terribly sure that Scott was going to say no, because _look at her._ She was far too weak to survive the Bite, and Scott had to know that.

What the hell was happening? Theo’s mind raced frantically for something to say that would get things back on track. The whole plan had been to make Liam so desperate to save Hayden and angry at Scott for refusing to turn her that he’d kill for the alpha power in order to be able to do it himself.

Liam nodded enthusiastically and bent down to get Hayden’s permission, trying to rouse her to wakefulness Theo simply stared; Scott was going off script.

“Scott, you can’t!” Stiles exclaimed suddenly as if he had figured something out.

Scott turned at that, his face going carefully blank.

“You know this. Look at her. Scott, she’s dying.” Stiles shouted, heedless of Hayden’s presence. “The Bite is hard on people’s bodies. That’s why Derek went for teenagers. Even though Erica had epilepsy, she was still physically healthy. Biting Hayden now will _kill_ her.”

“You don’t know that!” spat Liam. 

“I don’t _know_ that the sun will rise tomorrow,” Stiles shot right back, “but I can damn well act as if it will. You can’t do it.”

Scott had been standing there quietly, looking at neither Liam nor Stiles, but at Hayden. Theo bit his lip. He had to nudge things in the right way. “Stiles has a point.”

Scott glanced at Theo. “Does he?”

Liam stood up and shouted. “We can’t just do nothing!”

“I have more than a point. Listen to me, Scott. You’ll kill her if you Bite her. You don’t want to do that!” Stiles got up in his face. “You have to listen to me!”

Scott face remained blank but he met Stiles’ gaze with his own. “That’s right, isn’t it? I do _have_ to listen to you. I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”

“Scott, you promised!”

“I did, Liam. And I told you I’d do it if she said yes.” Scott replied without looking away from Stiles.

Stiles gritted his teeth. “Don’t do this. For whatever reason you think you have to do this, you don’t!”

Liam looked like he was going to punch Stiles. “She’s dying!”

“I know, Liam.”

Stiles made a decision. He clenched his fist so hard, his knuckles turned white. “And the Bite won’t help. Scott … I’ll call my dad.”

“Will you?” Scott’s voice was low and his eyes shifted to the ground. It was a challenge.

“You don’t do things like this. You’ll never forgive yourself, so if I have to stop you, I will.” Stiles was shouting his face.

This was all going wrong. Liam was supposed to be angry with Scott, not with Stiles. Scott and Stiles were supposed to be separated. While there was obviously tension between them, Stiles had just made it clear he wasn’t going to abandon Scott, and Scott wasn’t going to send him away. Stiles had to be somewhere else on the night of the Supermoon.

“I’ll call my mother.” Scott said suddenly. “She can help Hayden, and you don’t have to call your dad. Will that satisfy everyone?”

Liam jaw jutted out dangerously. “You’d really call the police?”

“Yes.” Stiles turned away arrogantly from the beta.

Scott got on the phone, Liam glowered at Stiles’ back, and Theo wondered what the fuck had just happened here. They waited in silence. 

It didn’t take long for Melissa to get there. She immediately started chelation therapy on Hayden. Liam nearly broke Scott’s mother’s wrist when it made Hayden moan with a shout. At Scott’s startled reaction, Liam apologized. He was still frustrated.

Theo hovered near Scott’s side. Things were still tense, but they weren’t tense enough. He had to figure out why things hadn’t gone the way he imagined them and fix it. Somehow. But he was running out of time.

Stiles talked to Melissa over Hayden’s unconscious body. He tried to keep his voice low, but it was ridiculous. It wasn’t like the two werewolves and one supposed werewolf couldn’t hear every word he said. He essentially informed Melissa about Scott’s willingness to Bite Hayden and how he was very, very much opposed to it.

Melissa shot Scott a look filled with disappointment. Liam shot Stiles a yellow-eye hate-filled glare.

Afterwards, Stiles approached where Scott was standing near the piles of dog food bags. Theo rose on the balls of his feet. Here it comes, he thought to himself. Here was when it had to come.

“Scott.” Stiles’ voice was not as strong as it usually was.

Scott looked up with that strange blank face he had been using ever since he had come back into the clinic. 

“I want to go check on Lydia.” Stiles was suddenly bashful. “She’s at the police station.”

Scott nodded. “Okay.”

Stiles stretched out his hand to touch the alpha, and Scott suddenly turned away and walked across the room. Theo had been looking for any sign of alienation, and there it was. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. 

“Maybe you can talk to Malia? I haven’t seen her for days.”

“Sure.” Stiles looked shaken. “Sure. Scott …”

Scott turned back to look at his best friend. Theo rose to the balls of his feet. “Yes?”

Stiles opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. Finally, he forced them out. “You know why I had to stop you.” 

Scott turned away. “No. I don’t.”

Theo had to take a gamble. He had to light the fire. “She’s dying. The Bite could be the only thing capable of saving her. It wouldn’t be like he meant to kill her.”

Whatever he had hoped to achieve, he failed. Stiles looked stricken, but Scott simply scowled at Theo. Theo squashed the need to defend himself. It was silly; he didn’t want Scott mad at him. 

Scott held Stiles’ gaze. There was some form of silence communication between them. In the end, Scott told him plainly. “You do what you think you have to do.”

Stiles left without another word.

Theo watched the tension flow out of Scott. No, that wasn’t right. He watched Scott nearly collapse like his strings were cut. Melissa and Liam were too fixated on Hayden to see it. Theo saw it though, and the vulnerability surprised him. What was he going to do now? The pack wouldn't shatter, and if it didn't shatter, he couldn't get what he wanted. Theo desperately grabbed for anything that would buy him time.

“When’s the last time you slept?” Theo asked out loud. He didn’t have much of a plan, but he wanted to keep Scott in that state. He made sure Liam and Melissa could hear it.

Scott tried to play it off. “It … doesn’t matter.” He said softly, the opposite of what Theo was trying to do.

Theo put a hand on Scott’s shoulder; unlike with Stiles or Liam, Scott didn’t shrink away from physical contact. That gave Theo a rather pleasant idea. “When?”

“Last night.”

“How many hours?”

“A few.”

Melissa put her hands on her hips. 

“You can get some sleep in the other room.” Theo turned to Scott’s mother who gestures for them to go. Theo guides Scott into that other room. Someplace quiet. 

Scott sat down on the bags of bedding. Most of the animals that Deaton treated in the clinic were cats and dogs, but sometimes he dealt with rabbits and guinea pigs which needed something softer than metal. Scott closed his eyes and leaned back – more like slid back – onto the bags. Theo took a seat on an overturned trough.

Theo let minutes pass as he plotted out his next move. He couldn’t be sure what had just happened; everything he had learned about Scott indicated a need to protect people just like Donovan. Scott didn’t protect them because they were good or bad, he protected them because he felt all life was worthy of being.

Yet, he hadn’t done anything to Stiles, when he believe the Donovan had been killed.

Everything he had learned about Scott indicated a determination not to let anyone else’s agenda force him into becoming a killer, no matter how good their reasons. Scott had held on to that piece of himself in the face of Peter, Derek, Deucalion, the Nogitsune, and Tezcatlipoca channeled through Kate Argent. 

Yet, he had told Liam that he would bite a girl, when it would surely kill her.

Theo felt hurt. It wasn’t just the idea that his plans had run aground in a spectacular way. It wasn’t the chance that he wouldn’t become alpha. Theo wanted a victory against the True Alpha, and it wasn’t going to be much of a victory if Scott betrayed the very principles that made him one. 

Scott had his eyes closed, but the chimera knew he was still awake. “You didn’t say anything to Stiles.”

“No.” 

Scott’s voice was tired. 

“Are you going to?”

“What would be the point?” Scott replied and shifted his position on the bags.

Theo hesitated. “I thought …”

“What am I going to do? Turn him into the cops? It’s not his fault.” 

Theo blinked. “I never said it was his fault, but still …”

“It’s my fault.”

Silence reigned over the storeroom for another few minutes. Theo decided to lay down on the trough. It made a noise. Finally, he spoke to the dark.

“How could it possibly be your fault?”

“The only reason Stiles has had to go through any of this is because he’s my friend. He’s human. If I weren’t in his life, he’d be at Brian’s right now.”

“Brian?”

“Lacrosse player. There’s a party tonight. Brian’s invited the whole team. There’s going to be beer and probably weed and everyone is going to get stupid drunk. He should be there, making a fool of himself over some girl.”

Theo snorts.

“None of this would have happened if I wasn’t a werewolf or if I had insisted that Stiles not be involved way back in sophomore year. I needed him, but he didn’t need me. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need to be kidnapped by Peter or threatened by Derek or paralyzed by Jackson. If I hadn’t been there, if I hadn’t become a stupid True Alpha, Deucalion would never have come, and he would never have been possessed. Or have his face covered in the blood of the Chemist. He would never have killed Donovan if he wasn’t my friend.”

“Oh.” This was despair.

“It’s the same with Liam and Hayden. Neither of them wanted this. Neither of them looked for this. If it wasn’t for me being a True Alpha, the Dead Pool wouldn’t have started. Liam would never have been bit. The Doctors would never have come here, and Hayden would never have been turned into a chimera. Liam would never have to sit by helplessly while the girl he loved died if it wasn’t for me.”

Theo sat up. This was intolerable. “So, it’s self-pity?” He almost bit his tongue off. He doesn’t know why he said that.

“No.” Scott sat up. “I’m not giving up. I’m not going to stop. I’m just not going to blame them for being collateral damage to my decisions.”

“Oh, bullshit!” Theo said angrily.

Scott turned to face him while Theo sat up with a clang.

Theo was incensed. Scott was … this was stupid. Scott was blaming himself for the decisions of other people. “You aren’t responsible for what the bad guys do!” Theo should know. He did know. 

“I didn’t say I was …”

“Yes, you are. If you got up, walked over here, and ripped out my throat because I disagreed with you, would it be Peter’s fault?” Theo hit the trough to emphasize his point.

“No.”

“Then it’s not your fault when Stiles beat some kid’s head in with a wrench.”

“But it’s my responsibility. Stiles isn’t a bad guy. Stiles is pack.” 

“Oh, bull-fucking-shit.” Theo stood up. “How can that possibly be true?” This was ridiculous. Theo couldn’t even think about his plan now. This do-gooder crap was ludicrous. “If you had told Stiles to take that wrench and hit Donovan with it, then it would be your responsibility. But you told him the exact opposite!”

“That doesn’t mean I get to judge him, not when the only reason Donovan was even a threat was because …”

“Yes, it does! Donovan hated Stiles’ dad long before he became a chimera.” Theo took a deep breath. “You have every right to judge him. You’re the alpha.”

Scott lips thinned out. 

“Yeah, you have a responsibility to protect the members of your pack. You have a responsibility to make sure they’re safe. But with responsibility comes authority. The authority to say that Stiles shouldn’t have hit that kid, shouldn’t have lied to everyone about it. The authority to say no to Liam’s demand that you bite Hayden, especially when you know it’s going to kill her.”

“Theo, you’re upset.”

Theo was indeed breathing heavily. Why was he breathing heavily? Why was he so concerned about proving that Scott was … worthy of being the True Alpha. 

“Why would you Bite Hayden, when you know she’ll die?”

“Because she _is_ going to die; I didn’t save her in time. At least I’ve have tried everything to save her.”

Theo stormed over to where Scott was rising and pushed him back down. “That’s stupid. You’re stupid.”

Scott didn’t resist the accusation. Theo was shocked. 

“You’re tired. You’re sad. You’re disappointed.” Theo went on, heedless now of any plans. “But I didn’t come here to listen to you … crucify yourself. I came here because you’ve saved lives. You’ve protected people, people like me. You’ve stood up to the darkness. You’re the True Alpha, and you don’t get to be a True Alpha because you’re a selfish prick. You didn’t drag Stiles into this; he followed you. You didn’t force Liam to believe that he can save Hayden; you didn’t force him to be inspired by you.”

And it was true. Theo realized that as much as this was manipulation, it was also true. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have come.” Scott was looking up at him, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I would always come.” Theo swallowed. “You’re someone to look up to. You’re someone to envy. I don’t have what you have.”

“You could find another pack.”

“I don’t want another pack. I want this one. And this one exists because of you and only you. You know who your friends are; what terrible things they could turn into. And they haven’t. Because of you.”

Scott blinked. 

“You saw Stiles out there. He was terrified that you’d reject him. It wasn’t his father’s rejection he’s most scared of, it’s yours. How did the hot-headed Liam ever come to love the girl who tormented him in the sixth grade? Because he copies you. Where’s Lydia? She’s helping Parrish for no other reason but he needs help. I’ve heard the stories. Does that sound like Lydia from sophomore year? Why isn’t Malia a feral coyote? You. You make them better. You made everyone better.” Theo took a great gulp of air. “I want that.”

Theo’s hands trembled, but his heart did not skip. He needed to get a handle on his emotions, or it was going to be a problem. He had to remind himself that Scott was the target.

Scott closed his eyes lying back. “I’ve made so many mistakes.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.” Theo looked down at Scott’s unguarded form. He knew what he should do. If he didn’t think he could get Liam to kill Scott, he should do it himself. The Doctors didn’t tolerate failure. He could do it right then and no one would be the wiser. But he didn’t. “But not everyone stands up to do the right thing. You need your pack. And they need you.” Breath. “I need you.”

Scott was still supine, and Theo knelt down next to him. “You need to rest. You need to relax.” He reached out and placed one hand on Scott’s thigh. “Let me help you.”

Theo wasn’t sure what he was doing. He wasn’t sure that he had a plan. He was scared. 

“I’m glad you’re here, Theo.”

Theo couldn’t agree. He was out of control. If anyone needed any proof of that, it was what Theo did next. He leant over and kissed Scott. The alpha’s eyes flew open. 

“Theo …”

“I’m sorry.” Theo was sorry. Those words were completely sincere. “I … told you I needed you, and I do.”

Scott’s eyes flashed red at his increased heart rate. Theo wasn’t the only one who was a little out of control. “I can’t. Kira …”

“Kira’s gone to get help. How long will she be gone?”

“I don’t know.” Scott’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know anything.”

“We could die tomorrow.” You’re supposed to die tomorrow. “It’s the Supermoon.”

Scott shook his head. 

“Please. Just let me help.”

The words hung in the dim light of the storeroom. Theo listened to Scott’s breathing and then felt him slide over on the bags to give Theo room. He didn’t say anything. 

As he lay down next to him. “The moon’s tomorrow.” Theo meant it as a warning. 

“What do you think I should do?” 

“I don’t know.” Theo took in a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do.”

“For now, let’s sleep.” 

Outside, the rain had stopped.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an homage to Teen Wolf. I do not own the characters.


End file.
